The Rangers coach was emotional and finally voicing it just hours before his team took on the Flames at the Garden on Friday night. On Thursday, team president Glen Sather and general manager Jeff Gorton announced to the hockey world that they were in sell mode leading up to the Feb. 26 trade deadline. It was not a shock, but it did stir up some fire in the belly of the normally reserved Vigneault.

“Well, I mean, I’ll tell you what I told my GM, what I told my president, what I told my owner — I’m going to try to win every game,” Vigneault said. “That’s what we have to do as a group.”

In attempting to explain why the Rangers have been so inconsistent, Vigneault looked directly toward his goal crease and to franchise bedrock Henrik Lundqvist. Vigneault said the team’s record has almost gone in lockstep with the performance of Lundqvist, with the occasional sprinkling in of backup Ondrej Pavelec. So what the Rangers actually needed was not more help up front, but more consistency in the nets.

“I believe that we’re a goaltender getting on a roll here to being back in the hunt and back into the playoffs,” Vigneault said. “We started our season 4-7-2 and we were a little inconsistent in the goaltending department. I felt we were playing better than our record indicated. Goaltending got better, we went on a [18-7-3] run. Came back from the bye week and since that time, we’ve been on a [3-10] run. A little inconsistent in the goaltending department.

“I believe we’re playing better than our record indicates and I really believe that Hank and Pav can get on a roll and we can get back in the hunt and get back in the playoffs.”

Ondrej PavelecGetty Images

In trying to do so, Vigneault decided Lundqvist was better served on the bench for Friday’s game, so he started Pavelec. Lundqvist worked with goaltending coach Benoit Allaire in the hope of turning his game around preceding the two-game road trip that goes from Winnipeg to Minneapolis on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively.

Going into Friday’s game, the Rangers were somehow only three points out of the second wild-card spot with 28 games remaining in the regular season. Yet Sather and Gorton have made the decision that the likes of Rick Nash and Michael Grabner will be available on the rental market, while others are not far behind.

Apparently in the process of the organization getting on the same page — “tuned into the same show,” as Sather put it — Vigneault was asked if he thought this team had a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Their intention to become sellers shows what they really think, but that does not include Vigneault getting ready to tank the season.

“I was asked directly if I think we can win the Cup,” he said. “I’ve had better teams, haven’t won it yet, but I believe we can get in [to the playoffs] and we’re going to try hard.”

Another point that seemed to bother Vigneault was The Post’s report from Jan. 26 that the front office was preparing for sell mode. It preempted the public declaration of the same sentiment, but Vigneault thought it getting out earlier hurt his team in the interim.

“There’s no doubt that when this story broke a couple weeks ago that the mindset in the dressing room was a little bit challenging. And with what happened [Thursday] might be a little bit challenging,” he said. “But it’s our job as coaches to keep our guys focused on the process, keep our guys focused on hockey. That’s what we’re going to do.”

This all comes in the light of the fact that Gorton was not willing to make any declaration on Vigneault being the coach beyond this season, despite there being two years left on Vigneault’s contract. It might be hard to coach a roster that is changing every night — and will only change more drastically with upcoming trades — but as a competitor and as a professional who wants to keep his job, Vigneault is still focused on winning.

“These are probably unusual circumstances,” he said. “My job is to coach and to get this team to win, their job is to play and find ways to win. We’re going to work together, we’re going to keep this in hockey mode.”